Written Answers

Monday 27 March 2000

Scottish Executive

Berneray

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will examine the proposal to create a site of special scientific interest on 75% of the arable land on the Isle of Berneray, Western Isles and whether it will list the 28 restrictive conditions to be imposed on crofting activity on the island.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is statutorily responsible for the notification of areas as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The SSSI on Berneray is being notified to underpin the North Uist, Machair & Islands Special Protection Area, which is required to deliver the Government’s international responsibilities under the EC Wild Birds Directive.

  As part of the SSSI notification, SNH has listed those operations which it considers could risk damaging the conservation interest for which the site has been notified. The list does not impose a general prohibition on any of these operations. Its purpose is to provide for consultation with SNH in advance, if an owner or occupier within the SSSI intends to carry out a listed operation. This process gives SNH the opportunity to appraise proposals for changes in the management of the land to ensure that they are consistent with its special interest.

  I understand from SNH that the designation of the area as a SSSI should not significantly restrict crofting activity on Berneray

Biodiversity

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of the Corncrake Action Plan Steering Group has been since its inception, specifying subtotals for (a) staff costs and (b) disbursements.

Sarah Boyack: Information on the cost of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for the corncrake is not held by the Scottish Executive. Details of funding from Scottish Natural Heritage to encourage farmers and crofters to manage land in a manner that meets the needs of the corncrake were provided in the answer given on 18 November 1999 (S1W-2328) to Fergus Ewing.

Biodiversity

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the tree felling and pruning work recently carried out along the A75 and A76 is consistent with the Dumfries and Galloway Biodiversity Action Plan.

Sarah Boyack: The tree felling and pruning work recently carried out along the A75 and A76 is in accordance with the Dumfries and Galloway Biodiversity Action Plan and the Scottish Executive documents Rural Road Management and the Environment and Cost Effective Landscape: Learning from Nature.

Cardiac Surgery

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3568 by Susan Deacon on 11 February 2000, why the waiting times for coronary artery bypass grafts and other cardiac surgery vary widely between health boards and what it will do to reduce both waiting times and the level of variance.

Susan Deacon: The variations between health boards in waiting times for coronary artery bypass surgery and other cardiac surgery are the result of a number of different factors, of which the severity of disease in individual patients is a key factor.

  It is for clinicians to determine the priority to be assigned in any given case. Those who need surgery on an emergency or urgent basis may never be on the waiting list at all. The Coronary Heart Disease Task Force has drawn up standard criteria for the management of patients awaiting cardiac surgery, based on clinical need. These will ensure that patients on the waiting list are managed actively and the system will respond appropriately, especially if there is any deterioration in a patient’s condition.

  The task force is working with cardiologists throughout Scotland to draw up common referral practices and is developing the concept of a national Managed Clinical Network for cardiac surgery. These initiatives, together with the work to establish national maximum waiting times for cardiac surgery, will help to overcome any geographical bias, while enhancing equity of access to services.

Contraception

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to supply emergency hormonal contraception through pharmacies.

Susan Deacon: Hormonal emergency contraception is at present available through community pharmacies but only on prescription.

  The Medicines Control Agency is currently considering applications to re-classify hormonal emergency contraception from prescription-only to pharmacy availability, so that it can be obtained from a pharmacy without a prescription. Careful consideration will be given to risks and benefits on the basis of a thorough evaluation of evidence, to ensure safe use without medical supervision. Expert advice will be sought from the Committee on Safety of Medicines, and there will be a period of public consultation before the Medicines Control Agency reaches a decision.

Economy

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it made to the Governor of the Bank of England on the effect on the Scottish economy of the current level of interest rates and the current strength of sterling during his recent visit to Scotland and what response it received.

Henry McLeish: I accompanied the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, and the Minister for Finance to a lunchtime meeting with the Governor and other representatives of the Bank of England during their recent visit to Scotland. A number of issues of mutual interest were discussed.

  Decisions on interest rates are a reserved issue, taken independently by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to meet the UK Government's inflation target. The UK Government does not have an exchange rate target. The Bank of England Act 1998 provides that regional and sectoral information should feed into the Monetary Policy Committee’s decisions. The Bank has a well-established agency in Scotland, which gives it a first-hand, up-to-date account of economic conditions here. The Scottish Executive has regular contacts with the agency.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees benefited from training and development through projects undertaken by Scottish Enterprise and Highland and Islands Enterprise in each of the last three years.

Henry McLeish: The number of employees benefiting from training and development through projects undertaken by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in the last three financial years are as follows:

  Scottish Enterprise

  

 

Skillseekers
Number with employed 

  status

  

Training for Work
Number with employed 

  status

  



1996-97

  

22,215

  

3,324

  



1997-98

  

23,098

  

3,256

  



1998-99

  

24,500

  

2,718

  



  Note: Scottish Enterprise do not collate network figures for discretionary training provided by local enterprise companies.

  In addition, 93,969 employees benefited from training and development as a result of their companies having Investors in People accreditation in 1998-99.

  Highlands and Islands Enterprise

  

 

Skillseekers
Number with employed 

  status

  

Training for Work
Number with employed 

  status

  

Discretionary Training
Number of employees

  



1996-97

  

1,221

  

22

  

2,314

  



1997-98

  

2,051

  

25

  

2,382

  



1998-99

  

2,247

  

13

  

2,314

  



  In addition, 26,700 employees benefited from training and development as a result of businesses committing to the Investors in People programme in the period 1996-99.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much net additional money activities undertaken by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise have added to Scotland’s output in each of the last three years.

Henry McLeish: Scottish Enterprise estimate the direct net additional Gross Domestic Product associated with their activities to be in excess of £600 million in each of 1997-98 and 1998-99.

  These estimates are calculated using evaluation evidence. They represent expectation of output on the third year after expenditure is incurred and are not cumulative.

  No comparable figures are available for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was generated through additional sales resulting from projects undertaken by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in each of the last three years and what percentage of these additional sales were exports.

Henry McLeish: The projected increase in sales resulting from projects undertaken by Scottish Enterprise in each of the last three financial years was as follows:

  

 

Sales £ million

  

% export sales

  



1998-99

  

1452

  

30

  



1997-98

  

1188

  

26

  



1996-97

  

1550

  

11

  



  Notes:

  1. These figures represent the projected increased sales expected to be generated in the third year following Scottish Enterprise assistance.

  2. The effects of property and skills related interventions are excluded.

  No comparable figures are available for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network.

Enterprise

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that proceeds from the sale of land and other assets by local enterprise companies are used for economic development.

Henry McLeish: Receipts from the sale of land and other assets of local enterprise companies contribute to the gross budgets of the Enterprise Networks and are therefore used for the purpose of economic development.

Fisheries

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the prohibition of sandeel fishing off the North East of England and the East of Scotland, it will introduce measures to protect juveniles of marine organisms upstream of Hound Point in the Forth Estuary and controls on unregistered non-commercial fishing boats to prohibit them from catching fish.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce such measures. Fishing on a non-commercial basis does not require a fishing licence and the Executive has no plans to prohibit non-commercial fishing activity in the Forth Estuary.

Fisheries

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the amendment by the European Union of EC Regulations 850/98 on the conservation of fishery resources, it will ban all net fishing other than that for salmon and eels in the Forth Estuary in order to protect spawning and nursery areas.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce such measures in the Forth Estuary.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1355 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000 and to question S1W-3497 by Mr Jack McConnell on 25 January 2000, whether it will now make available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre copies of the written opinions of the UK Law Officers in relation to the Noel Ruddle proceedings and, if not, why not.

Mr Jim Wallace: Any copies of the written opinions of the UK Law Officers which were inherited by the Scottish Executive on 1 July 1999 or have come into its possession since that date were or are provided by the UK Government on the basis that these may not be disclosed outwith the Executive.

Local Government Finance

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the formula and calculation used to allocate non-housing capital to Argyll and Bute Council in 1999-2000.

Mr Jack McConnell: Question S1W-3658 explained the base formula used from 1997-98. With the full agreement of CoSLA, the formula was adjusted from 1999-2000 to account for anticipated capital receipts as the Scottish Executive had abolished the requirement to use 50% of such receipts for debt redemption. The new approach increased Argyll and Bute’s base allocation from 3.9% to 4.3% of the total.

  Copies of the detailed calculations are available to councils on request.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement self-financing pay awards, similar to those in local authorities, in 2000-01 for staff under its own direct responsibility.

Mr Jack McConnell: In 2000-01, as in previous years, pay awards for the core Scottish Executive Departments will be self-financing.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those local authorities (a) who have a low forecast level of capital receipts raising capacity and whose net capital allocation has been adjusted up and (b) who have a high forecast level of capital receipts raising capacity and whose net capital allocation has been adjusted down, showing the capital allocations before and after adjustments for each local authority in the years 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information requested is shown in the table below. The allocations for 2000-01 are provisional.

  





1999-2000

  

2000-01

  






Base formula allocation

  

Formula Allocation 

  adjusted for receipts

  

Base formula allocation

  

Formula allocation 

  adjusted for receipts

  



Council

  

£000

  

£000

  

£000

  

£000

  



Aberdeen City

  

7,269

  

6,660

  

8,035

  

6,319

  



Aberdeenshire

  

7,875

  

8,184

  

8,749

  

8,368

  



Angus

  

4,451

  

4,873

  

4,887

  

5,204

  



Argyll & Bute

  

8,564

  

9,695

  

9,552

  

10,272

  



Clackmannanshire

  

2,621

  

2,814

  

2,761

  

2,874

  



Dumfries & 

  Galloway

  

7,240

  

8,051

  

7,900

  

8,596

  



Dundee City

  

6,369

  

6,221

  

7,024

  

6,994

  



East Ayrshire

  

4,569

  

4,937

  

5,017

  

5,251

  



East Dunbartonshire

  

4,392

  

4,076

  

4,812

  

4,553

  



East Lothian

  

4,026

  

4,351

  

4,445

  

4,404

  



East Renfrewshire

  

3,707

  

4,005

  

4,040

  

4,251

  



Edinburgh (City 

  of)

  

15,632

  

14,338

  

17,563

  

16,590

  



Eilean Siar

  

8,306

  

9,250

  

8,947

  

9,619

  



Falkirk

  

5,159

  

4,619

  

5,661

  

5,945

  



Fife 

  

11,740

  

11,315

  

13,159

  

13,598

  



Glasgow City

  

26,597

  

24,797

  

30,012

  

28,827

  



Highland 

  

14,906

  

15,597

  

16,339

  

17,241

  



Inverclyde

  

5,325

  

5,565

  

5,864

  

6,216

  



Midlothian

  

3,475

  

3,403

  

3,790

  

3,619

  



Moray

  

3,991

  

4,106

  

4,369

  

4,415

  



North Ayrshire

  

6,613

  

7,024

  

7,415

  

7,767

  



North Lanarkshire

  

11,397

  

10,458

  

12,696

  

12,137

  



Orkney Islands

  

3,373

  

3,653

  

3,475

  

3,681

  



Perth & Kinross

  

6,513

  

6,816

  

7,348

  

7,546

  



Renfrewshire

  

7,116

  

7,075

  

7,862

  

8,086

  



Scottish Borders

  

5,797

  

5,128

  

6,366

  

6,979

  



Shetland

  

0

  

0

  

0

  

0

  



South Ayrshire

  

4,343

  

4,696

  

4,764

  

4,457

  



South Lanarkshire

  

11,271

  

11,425

  

12,590

  

12,065

  



Stirling 

  

4,309

  

3,899

  

4,695

  

4,544

  



West Dunbartonshire

  

3,898

  

4,192

  

4,244

  

4,382

  



West Lothian

  

5,295

  

4,917

  

5,845

  

5,429

  



Scotland Total

  

226,139

  

226,139

  

250,228

  

250,228

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the grant-aided expenditure figure for school transport of £46.569 million in 1999-2000 will remain exactly the same in 2000-01.

Mr Jack McConnell: The GAE allowances for individual services are not spending targets or limits, but contribute towards the calculation of councils’ total grant allocations. The factors determining that calculation in respect of school transport did not change between 1999-2000 and 2000-01. In 2000-01 Government Supported Expenditure will rise by 3.7% to £6,746 million. Within that, provision for education will increase by 4.3%. It is a matter for local authorities to determine their spending priorities and allocate resources accordingly.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the grant-aided expenditure figure for school transport in 2000-01 showed variances over its 1999-2000 figure ranging from –56% in the case of East Lothian to +248% in the case of Glasgow.

Mr Jack McConnell: Grant-aided expenditure for school transport was allocated in 1999-2000 on the basis of school age population adjusted by a secondary indicator of rural settlement pattern. For 2000-01 CoSLA agreed the use of a new secondary indicator, population dispersion as a more plausible measure of councils’ relative school transport costs, which has resulted in a different distribution. "Damping" arrangements have been introduced to give extra support to councils facing a reduction in GAE as a result of the change in indicator.

  Indicators used for GAE distribution are set out in the Grant Aided Expenditure 2000-01 Green Book, copies of which are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the specific grant allocation was for local government in 1999-2000, and what it will be in 2000-01, in real terms.

Mr Jack McConnell: The specific grant allocations for local government in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, expressed in real terms using the September 1999 Retail Prices Index, are £500.552 million and £530.420 million respectively.

Ministerial Correspondence

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs will reply to my letter of 29 October 1999 concerning Whitehills harbour, Banffshire.

Mr John Home Robertson: I responded to Mr Salmond’s letter of 29 October 1999 on 15 March 2000. In my reply I apologised for the length of time it had taken to deal with this correspondence, and I take this opportunity to re-iterate that apology. Procedures for the handling of MSPs correspondence have been improved to prevent the occurrence of unwarranted delays.

Multiple Sclerosis

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of the funding provided by it and its executive agencies into researching the causes of, and a cure for, multiple sclerosis.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has received no research proposals of a sufficiently high standard on multiple sclerosis (MS) recently and therefore does not directly fund research into this neurological disease at present. However, we would be pleased to receive research applications on MS.

  We are aware of 13 research projects on MS which are currently taking place in the UK, one of which is taking place in Scotland. The results of the projects undertaken throughout the UK will inform the future direction of research and treatment of this disease.

  Details of these are available from the National Research Register (NRR), a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

National Health Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to specify, in terms of cost, the extent of the current backlog of safety and statutory works in each NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: The information in the form requested is not held centrally.

National Health Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding is being made available each year to carry out the backlog of safety and statutory works in each NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: Capital resources of over £45 million are allocated to individual NHS Trusts on an annual basis for investment in their estate, including the need to carry out any backlog of safety and statutory works.

  It is for individual NHS Trusts to determine local priorities and how they should be funded from the resources available.

National Health Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how funding for safety and statutory works is allocated between NHS Trusts.

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what categories of expenditure NHS Trusts have to meet from their share formula allocation other than expenditure on the backlog of safety and statutory works.

Susan Deacon: Over £45 million of capital is allocated annually to NHS Trusts on a "Formula" basis; that is a formula based on Trust income and building and equipment depreciation levels. The annual formula allocations are generally used by Trusts for routine maintenance, achievement of statutory standards, and the purchase of items of equipment and small capital projects.

National Health Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been invested in the last two financial years (a) in each NHS Trust and (b) nationally on (i) backlogged maintenance on fabric and services; (ii) medical equipment replacement; (iii) X-ray equipment; (iv) vehicles, including mobile dental units and patient mini-buses; (v) portable equipment for all support services; (vi) IT equipment; (vii) energy conservation measures, and what the total national spending was in each of these categories in 1994-95 and 1995-96.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

  It is for individual NHS Trusts to fund local priorities from the resources available.

National Health Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to address the Committee of Public Accounts’ finding in its July 1999 report The NHS in Scotland: making the most of the estate and other issues , that, in 1997, 29% of NHS buildings in Scotland did not comply with safety and statutory standards.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive introduced a Safety and Statutory Standards Action Plan in December 1999. The Action Plan was agreed with the Health and Safety Executive. The Action Plan commits the Scottish Executive to the monitoring of compliance. Where there is cause for concern, the Department will carry out an investigation by calling for further information from the body and considering that alongside the body’s Property Strategy and any other relevant documentation, e.g. their health and safety action plan. If the Scottish Executive’s concerns cannot be satisfactorily addressed, then the Department and/or the NHS body may seek advice from HSE.

  NHS in Scotland bodies will be asked shortly to provide details of the performance of their property as at April 2000. This will include compliance with statutory standards. Bodies will also be asked to identify the year-on-year targets they have agreed and included in their Property Strategies for 2000-05 for improvements in the performance of their essential building area, including statutory standards.

  Based on information provided by NHS Trusts and other NHS in Scotland bodies last year the percentage of essential building area fully compliant with safety and statutory standards has increased from 71% in 1997 to 77% in 1999.

Planning

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the A701 in Midlothian is compatible with current planning guidance and, if so, how.

Sarah Boyack: The project was in accord with the statutory development plan. Before structure plans are approved, Ministers need to be satisfied that they are in line with current planning guidance.

Planning

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any powers to review the decision by Dumfries and Galloway Council to grant planning permission to West of Scotland Water to extend and develop the Annan Sewerage Works and, if so, whether it will conduct such a review.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not have powers to review the decision to grant planning permission.

Planning

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed residential housing development at Pettinan, South Lanarkshire meets national planning policy guidelines and, if not, what steps it intends to take in relation to the development.

Sarah Boyack: This is a matter for South Lanarkshire Council in the first instance. As the application may be notified to the Scottish Ministers I am unable to comment on whether the proposal is in accordance with National Planning Policy Guidelines.

Public Appointments

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister had responsibility for making or recommending recent judicial appointments in consultation with the Lord President.

Donald Dewar: Yes.

Public Sector Remuneration

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct an investigation into the remuneration levels of management posts in the public sector; whether the highest level of public sector salary should be paid to the First Minister on a pyramidal structure and whether all public positions should be remunerated upon a pay structure which reflects the degree of responsibility undertaken by all other posts.

Mr Jack McConnell: There is a very wide range of public sector organisations in Scotland, with very varied functions and responsibilities. This is reflected in a similarly broad range of pay arrangements for management, staff and other public sector appointments. It would therefore be wholly inappropriate, and indeed bad policy and management practice, to attempt to link all senior public sector pay to a single salary point.

Roads

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether prospective or possible employment opportunities in Glasgow are being discouraged as a result of road congestion and, if so, to detail them.

Sarah Boyack: Road   congestion imposes costs on business and the wider economy but, as the SACTRA report Transport and the Economy states, the linkages between transport and the economy are far from straightforward. The provisions on congestion charging and the workplace parking levy in the forthcoming Transport Bill provide new tools to tackle congestion. It is up to Glasgow to consider whether these powers will assist the economic development of the city.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has changed, or has any plans to change, the way its responsibilities for roads in Dumfries and Galloway are administered; if so, what the purpose of such changes is and what consultation has been carried out.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has made no recent changes in the way its responsibilities for trunk roads in Dumfries and Galloway are administered. At present the management of the operation and maintenance of these roads are undertaken by the South West Partnership, a managing agent consortia of local authorities including Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire. The existing contract under which this work is undertaken will end on 31 March 2001, along with all other maintenance contracts across the Scottish motorway and trunk road network.

  The arrangements for the future stand to be re-tendered within the scope of European procurement rules. I have announced in my answer to Karen Gillon on 24 December 1999 (question S1W-3538) that the new arrangement will involve the appointment of four operating companies covering the full Scottish motorway and trunk road network. These operating companies will provide a more comprehensive range of services than the managing agents, including the responsibility for undertaking works. I was informed in this decision by responses to The Road Ahead consultation document, which was published by the Scottish Office on 14 April 1999.

Roads

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are or have been plans to extend the Edinburgh City Bypass to six lanes and, if so, whether it will detail them, and whether external consultants or other professionals have been approached regarding proposals to extend the number of lanes on the bypass and, if so, what are the details including dates and those involved.

Sarah Boyack: A scheme for widening the Edinburgh City Bypass was safeguarded in the Lothian Structure Plan 1994, but detailed proposals have not been developed. Transportation consultants SIAS analysed the impact of widening the carriageway on the Colinton Bypass section of the road as part of the refurbishment works now underway. They concluded that the provision of a hard shoulder, which is now being provided on this section, gave an equivalent economic benefit under today’s traffic conditions.

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to include a question on the Scots language in the next Household Survey.

Mr Jack McConnell: There are no current plans to include a question on the Scots language in the Scottish Household Survey (SHS). The SHS questionnaire is revised slightly each year and a trawl for bids will take place in summer 2000 for questions/topics for possible inclusion in the SHS 2001 questionnaire.

Sport

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to the Scottish Professional Youth Initiative; whether it will detail the nature of that support and what support will be given to the initiative in the next financial year.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive has received no approach for support from any organisation of that name.

Subordinate Legislation

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to lay before the Parliament the revised Small Claims (Scotland) Amendment Order 2000 and the revised Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 (Private Jurisdiction and Summary Cause) Order 2000 and what its timetable is for these Orders from laying to implementation.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Orders will be re-laid when a number of concerns which prompted their withdrawal are addressed. These concerns include the provision of an amended Table of Fees for solicitors in summary cause procedure and new summary cause rules. These are not matters for Ministers. The Orders will provide for their coming into force some 3 months after the date laid.

Tourism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what disciplinary action it has taken or plans to take in respect of the publication of false information by the Scottish Tourist Board on 30 November 1999 about a survey undertaken by the Forum for Private Business.

Henry McLeish: None. I am satisfied that the Scottish Tourist Board has acted in good faith based on the information available to them at the time.

Traffic Reduction

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will commit and what action it is taking to address any problems which are barriers to more children walking or cycling, such as the lack of secure cycle parking, too much traffic, speed of traffic and lack of facilities at danger points.

Sarah Boyack: In December the Scottish Executive published guidance on Safer Routes to School . Copies of the guidance have been sent to each local authority and every school in Scotland. The purpose of the guidance is to provide a toolkit of measures which can be used to remove barriers to children walking and cycling to and from school.

  I intend to commence shortly the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 in Scotland. Once commenced, local authorities will be required to produce a report to assess existing levels of traffic on their roads, forecast expected growth in these levels and set targets for reducing levels of road traffic.

  I am in the process of commissioning a pilot study of Home Zones in Scotland. One of the aims of the study will be to assess the effectiveness of a range of techniques, including speed reducing and traffic calming measures, that roads authorities may use to implement Home Zones. Another aim of the research is to evaluate the extent to which the broad quality of life aims of Home Zones can be achieved within existing legislation.

  The Scottish Executive is currently evaluating the effectiveness of 20mph pilot projects implemented in a number of local authority areas throughout Scotland in 1998. The pilot projects are testing the effectiveness of 20mph schemes which do not include the use of relatively expensive engineering measures to force down the speed of traffic. The final results will be available in September and the final report published soon after.

  On 1 March the Scottish Executive and the UK Government published a GB strategy to reduce road traffic casualties. Among other things, the strategy includes measures to protect vulnerable road users such as children, pedestrians and cyclists.

Transport

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail (a) the revenue and (b) the level of subsidy received by ScotRail over the past three years.

Sarah Boyack: The franchise payments received by ScotRail over the past three years are detailed in the table below. Fare-box revenue is a commercial matter for the company.

  

 

1997-1998

  

1998-1999

  

1999-2000

  



Scotrail Franchise Payments (£ 

  million)

  

288.63

  

280.17

  

264.60

  



  Source: figures from Office of Rail Passenger Franchising Annual Report 1998-99.

Transport

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why its proposals for the Integrated Transport Bill contain no proposals to encourage walking and cycling.

Sarah Boyack: Responsibility for the provision of walking and cycling infrastructure rests with the local authorities. The local authorities already have powers under existing legislation to promote and implement schemes designed to encourage walking and cycling, and further legislation is not necessary. The Local Transport Strategy Guidance suggests the inclusion of walking and cycling opportunities as part of an integrated approach to improving transport choices in local areas.

Transport

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to establish a transport authority, similar to that being considered for the Highlands and Islands, for any part of the South of Scotland.

Sarah Boyack: The Executive has no such plans. The consideration being given to a Transport Authority for the Highlands and Islands reflects the potential for devolving central Government responsibilities for Caledonian MacBrayne and Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd to the local communities most affected by their activities.

Water Authorities

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects (a) The West of Scotland Water Authority (b) the East of Scotland Water Authority and (c) the North of Scotland Water Authority to meet the requirements of the European Union Directive on primary and secondary sewage treatment.

Sarah Boyack: The UWWTD imposes a wide range of requirements, with a range of deadlines. Some, such as ending sewage dumping at sea, have already been implemented. The other main deadlines are end-2000 and end-2005, and the requirements are set out in more detail in the Quality and Standards paper issued by the Scottish Executive in November 1999. This paper describes the standards the three water authorities will work towards between 2000 and 2002. The Scottish Executive is committed to timely implementation of all EU legislation. The water authorities have responsibility for managing and implementing the projects, in line with the timescales in the Directive. The Scottish Executive is keeping this matter under review, and is satisfied that the authorities are taking all practicable steps to comply with the deadlines specified in the Directive.

Water Authorities

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the structure of Scotland’s water authorities, in the light of the recent announcement regarding the water industry regulator’s willingness to consider mergers of water companies in England and Wales.

Sarah Boyack: The Executive is aware of the possibility of mergers among the privatised water companies in England and Wales and has no plans for a review of the structure of the publicly-owned water authorities in Scotland.